DESPITE a weeklong training in Baguio, which was supposed to acclimatize the Philippine Azkals to the sub-zero conditions in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, some members of the celebrated squad suffered discomfort when they reached Japan on Monday.
The Japan weather dropped to 0 degrees on Monday midnight, according to a message sent by team captain Aly Borromeo via twitter. It improved to 3 to 4-degrees centigrade when they began training around noontime the next day.
The team, coached by Germany’s Hans Michael Weiss, is composed of 18 players, with Filipino-Icelander defender Ray Jonnsson expected to join them there.
The team, which faces Mongolia in the second game of their home-and-away series of the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup on March 15, has started wearing the thermal suits provided by Mizuno that are suited for the cold weather.
Still, some members of the team could not immediately adjust to the weather, with Emilio “Chieffy” Caligdong reportedly experiencing colds and coughing.
How the Azkals will adjust to the cold weather in their Fukushima training camp will determine their chances when they finally meet the Mongolians at their freezing home turf next week.
“If we were training under normal conditions, I can definitely say that we will beat Mongolia. However, because of the cold weather, we want to adjust, and that’s what we want to do in Japan,” said team manage Dan Palami.
Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Mariano said the team is camped at a facility owned by the Japan Football Association, located in the prefecture of Shiznoka, about 174 kilometers from Tokyo.
“OK naman ang tirahan nila doon at ang mga arrangements,” said Mariano.
Continue reading in Manila Standard ...
Showing posts with label Mizuno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mizuno. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Azkals on a high below zero
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| Members of the Phl Azkals are all wrapped up to combat the Gotemba cold in the first day of training in a mountain-resort football facility in Japan. |
MANILA, Philippines - The Azkals felt good training under zero degree weather yesterday in Gotemba, Japan.
“It’s cold but amazing. Cozy place, great soccer complex and great food,” said defender Anton del Rosario on his Twitter account.
“But no wifi,” added the 28-year-old from California.
Team captain Aly Borromeo also talked about the absence of wifi in their training quarters located near the foot of Mt. Fuji.
“We are in the boondocks four hours away from Tokyo. No wifi around here and you would’ve thought a country like this would have wifi everywhere,” he said on Twitter.
But seriously, Borromeo said everything went well on their first day of training in Gotemba as they geared up for their March 15 match in Mongolia.
“Zero degree at practice earlier. All the boys didn’t seem to mind the cold too much,” added Borromeo.
The Azkals arrived in Narita the other night and took a 174 km ride to Gotemba where they will stay and train until they depart for Mongolia on March 13.
Team manager Dan Palami posted a team picture taken upon their arrival in Gotemba, with the Azkals all bundled up in their winter clothing.
For most of them, it’s their first time to experience weather this cold. And it only gets tougher in Mongolia, in Ulan Batur, where the weather was minus-11 yesterday.
But to them, it doesn’t really matter anymore.
The match with the Mongolians will be played at 1 p.m., and it won’t make a difference because even at that time the weather will be near freezing point.
It’s the main reason why the Azkals took the trip to Gotemba more than a week before the match in Mongolia.
The Azkals beat the Mongolians at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod last Feb. 9, 2-0, under weather as high as 25 degrees.
To turn things around, the Mongolians must win by a margin of three goals at least. Otherwise, the Azkals advance to the AFC Challenge Cup group stage against Bangladesh, Nepal and Palestine later this month.
Chieffy Caligdong, who scored the opening goal against the Mongolians at Panaad, said the thermal wear provided for the team by their official outfitter Mizuno does help.
“We’re using it. The team is okay but we’re adjusting to the cold, with some coughing on my part. It’s just too cold out here. New climate,” he said.
Caligdong is also on Twitter.
/via Philippine Star (by Abac Cordero, 3/9/2011)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Azkals do everything not to 'freeze to death'
Temperature is the one thing standing between the Azkals and the AFC Challenge Cup, and the team knows it.
Because of this, the Azkals have been doing everything they can to get acclimatized to Mongolia’s sub-zero weather – they trained in Baguio, spent an afternoon at Snow World, and got to Japan to train some more in the snow before flying to Mongolia next week.
“We're all excited to train at the J Village!" tweeted skipper Aly Borromeo before they left Monday afternoon.
J-Village is the national training facility of the Japan Football Association. The temperature currently plays between two to three degrees Celsius in Japan. Still not Mongolia-cold, but it’s cold enough for them to get acclimatized.
“By the time we play in Mongolia in March, it's going to be around zero or one degree. We've been keeping track of the weather, and it's getting warmer," said Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta.
The Azkals will play against the Blue Wolves at 1p.m., the warmest time of the day. Even with the sun burning at midday, Araneta says the players will “freeze to death" if they’re clothed in their usual uniforms.
To counter the cold, official outfitter Mizuno provided thermal wear last Thursday for the players to keep them warm as they play in the qualifier on March 15.
Winger Chieffy Caligdong, who scored the Azkals’ first goal against Mongolia, stressed that thermal wear is crucial to their performance in the second leg.
“Yung Fil-foreigners na-experience na yung ganung kalamig, pero kaming mga local players talagang mas mag-aadjust. Mas kailangan namin ng mga ganitong equipment," the Mizuno endorser said.
The material of the shorts they will be using is micro-fiber which is basically wind-proof. Aside from the uniforms, Mizuno will be providing additional equipment, tracksuits and mid thermal socks.
“With the equipment provided by Mizuno, I think we can perform even better in Mongolia than here in the Philippines," Araneta added.
Mongolia is down by two goals in the home-and-away series. As a result, they are trying to bank on the cold weather to outscore the Azkals in leg two. Mongolia even rejected the Philippines’ request to train there a week before the match to get acclimatized.
Luck isn’t on Mongolia’s side though as they might play with three men down.
According to Araneta, two of the Blue Wolves are injured and might not play at all. P. Altantulga was thrown out in leg one so he can’t join the next game too.
The Azkals will train in Japan until March 13, and then head straight to Ulan Bator for their match. If they beat Mongolia, they will advance to the group stage in Myanmar on March 21. -- Mav C. Gonzales/OMG, GMA News
/via gmanews.tv
Because of this, the Azkals have been doing everything they can to get acclimatized to Mongolia’s sub-zero weather – they trained in Baguio, spent an afternoon at Snow World, and got to Japan to train some more in the snow before flying to Mongolia next week.
“We're all excited to train at the J Village!" tweeted skipper Aly Borromeo before they left Monday afternoon.
J-Village is the national training facility of the Japan Football Association. The temperature currently plays between two to three degrees Celsius in Japan. Still not Mongolia-cold, but it’s cold enough for them to get acclimatized.
“By the time we play in Mongolia in March, it's going to be around zero or one degree. We've been keeping track of the weather, and it's getting warmer," said Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta.
The Azkals will play against the Blue Wolves at 1p.m., the warmest time of the day. Even with the sun burning at midday, Araneta says the players will “freeze to death" if they’re clothed in their usual uniforms.
To counter the cold, official outfitter Mizuno provided thermal wear last Thursday for the players to keep them warm as they play in the qualifier on March 15.
Winger Chieffy Caligdong, who scored the Azkals’ first goal against Mongolia, stressed that thermal wear is crucial to their performance in the second leg.
“Yung Fil-foreigners na-experience na yung ganung kalamig, pero kaming mga local players talagang mas mag-aadjust. Mas kailangan namin ng mga ganitong equipment," the Mizuno endorser said.
The material of the shorts they will be using is micro-fiber which is basically wind-proof. Aside from the uniforms, Mizuno will be providing additional equipment, tracksuits and mid thermal socks.
“With the equipment provided by Mizuno, I think we can perform even better in Mongolia than here in the Philippines," Araneta added.
Mongolia is down by two goals in the home-and-away series. As a result, they are trying to bank on the cold weather to outscore the Azkals in leg two. Mongolia even rejected the Philippines’ request to train there a week before the match to get acclimatized.
Luck isn’t on Mongolia’s side though as they might play with three men down.
According to Araneta, two of the Blue Wolves are injured and might not play at all. P. Altantulga was thrown out in leg one so he can’t join the next game too.
The Azkals will train in Japan until March 13, and then head straight to Ulan Bator for their match. If they beat Mongolia, they will advance to the group stage in Myanmar on March 21. -- Mav C. Gonzales/OMG, GMA News
/via gmanews.tv
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